Protesters call on Rogers to pull backing of Chinese-language TV channels

cablewithaview · #1 (**permalink**) 03-22-2006, 01:07 AM

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TORONTO (CP) - Demonstrators smashed a television set Tuesday outside the headquarters of Rogers Communications Inc. to protest the company's sponsorship of nine Chinese-language TV channels they denounce as vehicles for Communist propaganda.

About 50 protesters lined the sidewalk to demand Rogers pull the plug on supporting the channels, which they say would transmit messages inciting hatred against groups that aren't in line with the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

"No communist propaganda," protesters chanted as they marched around the company's downtown Toronto offices.

The Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association submitted a request last September for the channels, which are operated under the state-owned China International Television Corporation.

The CRTC is now evaluating whether the channels should be made available on a list of eligible services, which would then allow Rogers (TSX:RCI.NV.B) to make them available to cable subscribers.

A decision is expected within two to four months.

Elaine Xie, co-chairwoman of Canadians Against Propaganda, the group that mounted Tuesday's protest noted that Canadian television channels would never be allowed to be broadcast in China.

"Although you are helping to facilitate this regime to spread its message of communism and hatred here in Canada, this same regime does not allow one single, uncensored Western media from entering its own borders," Xie said.

The U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights, released earlier this month, noted that China is continuing to clamp down on the print, broadcast and electronic media. In exchange for access to the massive Chinese market, Internet media titan Google agreed to censor searches run from the country.

David Purdy, vice-president and general manager of television services for Rogers Cable, said there is a strong demand for the channels from Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking Canadians living in large urban centres like Vancouver and Toronto.

"We've had literally hundreds, if not thousands, of e-mails from people supporting and asking for these channels," Purdy said.

"We've met with the (protesters), we're open to their right to talk to the CRTC, and quite frankly, there was a process whereby they could've submitted all of their concerns and issues in writing and I believe they've done that."

The group Reporters Without Borders called the state-run Xinhua News Agency "the world's biggest propaganda agency" following a 2005 investigation which revealed the agency denied the existence of
SARS in the early months of the 2003 epidemic.

For Xie, the breaking point came when she learned the truth about the infamous June 4, 1989 assault by the authorities on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

"I was still a high school student when the Tiananmen Square massacre happened," Xie said.

"According to the (Chinese) media, not even one student was killed, and no shooting at all. After I came to Canada, I found out how brutal the massacre is. It was totally different from what the Chinese media said."

Purdy said it's ultimately up to the CRTC to determine what content is suitable for the airwaves.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060...nels_protest_2

cablewithaview · #2 (**permalink**) 04-03-2006, 08:59 PM

Comments, controversy and violence erupting over proposed carriage of Chinese-language television channels in Canada has prompted the CRTC to extend the public input period into its decision.

In a precedent setting announcement, the telecom regulator said it is inviting more public input after concerned groups called for public hearings into the proposal. The CRTC reports receiving petitions, form letters, and close to 400 comments both in support of and against the nine channels.

The original call for comments on the proposed addition of nine non-Canadian Chinese-language services to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis was issued last December; the deadline has now been extended to May.

The decision was welcomed by groups that argue the channels incite hatred and serve as vehicles for Communist propaganda.

The Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association had submitted a request for their broadcast last September, but the sponsorship has since been taken over by Rogers Communications Inc.

Meanwhile, news report from London, ON, for example, indicate that violence is a part of the controversy. Demonstrators smashed a television set yesterday outside the company headquarters to protest its role.

http://www.cablecastermagazine.com/i...issue=04032006

cablewithaview · #3 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 12:28 AM

TORONTO (CP) - About two dozen people angered by attempts to bring controversial Chinese-language television channels to Canada protested Thursday outside the headquarters of Rogers Cable.

Demonstrators lined the sidewalk outside the downtown office building and silently held up placards calling for the broadcaster to end its application to air the channels. The group Canadians Against Propaganda said the channels are controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and warned that programming would incite hatred over the airwaves.

"They will propagate the (CCP) ideology," said protest organizer Elaine Xie.

"It is propaganda and it should not be allowed to broadcast in Canada. It's against humanity."

The group said the party has previously produced programs that celebrated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and tried to cover up the
SARS outbreak in China.

Xie said the party also has a history of attacking Christians, Tibetans,
Falun Gong practitioners, and Taiwan.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is soliciting public opinion on the channels before making a decision on whether to allow broadcast.

An original deadline for submissions has been extended after a flood of petitions, form letters, and close to 400 comments both in support of and against the channels was sent to the CRTC.

Xie said they planned to present the federal regulator with damning evidence.

"We have tapes from those nine TV channels and how they incite hatred. We will file enough evidence for the CRTC to make a good decision," Xie said.

Rogers could not be reached for comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060...nnels_debate_2

cablewithaview · #4 (**permalink**) 04-09-2006, 01:29 AM

Rogers Communications says it's not up to the company to determine the content of Chinese-language TV channels it wants to broadcast in Canada.

The cable and media company is supporting an application to bring nine Chinese TV channels into Canada.

However, some members of the Chinese community say the state-run channels are tools of the Communist Party of China.

On Thursday, opponents of the stations gathered outside the Rogers office in Toronto to protest the application. They carried signs with slogans that read, "No communism in our cable boxes."

"They propagate Chinese communist ideology and incite hatred," Elaine Xie, a member of the group Canadians Against Propaganda, told CBC Radio.

In the past, state-run channels have run programs that celebrated the 9/11 attacks and promoted the persecution of Christians, Tibetans and members of Falun Gong, the spiritual group banned in China, she said.

Rogers spokesperson Nancy Cottonden says it's up to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which regulates broadcasting in Canada, to determine whether these channels should be available to Canadians.

"We do not make decisions on what Canadians should be allowed to watch," she told CBC Radio. "If these channels get approved, and we have permission to play these channels, our customers will make the decision and choose to buy them. It's all about giving them the choice."

The CRTC is in the midst of public hearings on whether to allow the channels into Canada.

The nine channels from China would be available via digital satellite. Seven of the stations, including the main national network CCTV, would broadcast in Mandarin. One would broadcast in Cantonese and another in English.

They offer TV dramas, Chinese opera, local culture and news from the mainland.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/nationa...s.html?ref=rss